anyone know of any good tabletop projections? My basement has a "bar" built in to the wall where my current 32" tv sits. I am looking into upgrading to a HDTV ready widescreen projection, most likely a 40-42". I do not want one with a huge stand or speaker underneath, for obvious reasons. I have only found a few so far.

This is a 42" Mitsubishi Best Buy has, I need to go and take a look at it and see if its any good:

yeah i saw some small DLPs, those are out of my price range... I am really looking to spend
Correct me if I am wrong, but the regular projections seem to have come a long way in picture quality....I would NEVER have considered a projection a few years ago, as I cannot stand the glare from the sides, but the new ones seem to have a bright and vibrant picture from almost any angle.

ok i just got back from Best Buy and I can say that the projections were only ok, especially after I looked at the 42" Samsung DLP they had....Now I am considering the 42" DLP for $3499. lol. is it worth it? amazon and others have it for $2999.....whats up with that? the only issue is i need to buy the 4 yr service plan and i need 2 yr no interest financing to do it, will BB pricematch amazon??

The Samsung DLPs are very good sets but are more expensive than both CRT and LCD (as you have discovered). You might want to look at the Sony and Panasonic LCD-RPTVs.

Do you have a Sears in your area? I believe they carry the 43" Samsung and you can negotiate price with them. I suspect you could get the 46" for under $3500 if you can locate a retailer that carries it. The 46" is almost the same width as the 43" due to a thinner bezel.

BTW, Samsung is eliminating the 43" size form it's lineup sometime this year (in the HLP series, current series is HLN).

I've been reading alot about the various types of TV's and while there is nothing everyone agrees on here are a few things I have picked up on that are as close to universal as they get:

-It is difficult to impossible to compare rear projection tv's (RPTV"s) at the typical store (Best Buy, Sears, etc). They are not calibrated correctly and most have set on their brightest level to account for store lights, and make them look flashy.
-CRT TV's can have excellent quality (some will argue the best), but they benefit the most from calibration (what you can do and professionally done).
-CRT's benefit from a darker room, have a smaller sweet spot for viewing and excellent black levels
-LCD's and DLP's work well in brighter light, have larger viewing angles, and not as good black levels
-Some say CRT's have a natural look, while LCD's and DLP's have a more digital look.
-You should consider burn in on CRT's where it is not an issue on the others.
-CRT's are cheaper then the others

These are just generalities that I have picked up while learner. An individual set may be different. Especially if you start talking aboiut getting the set calibrated. And perhaps it is not fair to lump LCD's and DLP's together. For there are differences between them. But again I say this as generalities and to give a starting point.

If you are looking at the 43" model, you should get it while you can. As previously stated, they are phasing them out this year. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it, but Samsung is going with a different size lineup. And as far as if it's worth it or not? IMHO, it was worth EVERY penny spent, and there are A LOT of other people who would share my thinking. I admit, the DLP sets aren't for everyone because of the price, but I would recommend getting one if it peaks your interest. I hope this link helps your dillema. HDTV Quest

Oh, one more thing. Don't let any store clerks or uninformed individuals tell you there is a difference between the HLN 4365 Best Buy sells and the 437 Circuit City (plus other B&M's) sells, because there in NO internal difference between the two. Likewise for the HLN 5065 and the 507. The only difference is the bezel color. That is it. The entire line of HLN's have the Faroudja deinterlacer in them.

Originally posted by MACD23 i was browsing Sears website, they have the same tv same price. their extended warranty plans are a rip off though.

anyway, i hate the large screen LCDs i think they look very washy and blurry. The Samsung DLP I saw was crystal clear....It was enough to sway me to spend the extra 2K

The price of the extended warranty is negotiable as well. You can mention that other stores' EWs are not as expensive. If you are nice in your "discussions" about price, you should be able to get a good deal.

AOD, I am almost positive I am buying the 43" Samsung this week. I just skimmed the artcile you linked, whats the story with adding antennas? Will I get the superb quality picture with HDTV comcast cable box only :

i don't want to spend too much money, also, is it worth it to upgrade to the expensive monster cables, from what the cable company gives me for the HDTV box? and i assume i should use the heavy duty surge protector unit the guy was showing me?

The antenna is for OTA channels. Depending on where you live, it might not come in that strong. A strong OTA signal will (IMHO) give you the best possible HD picture. Of course, your box has to have an antenna input for the antenna. And no, you don't have to get expensive monster cable. I don't know which cable is being included with your box, but as a GENERAL rule, cables that are bundled with equipment are not of the highest quality available. Notice I said GENERAL rule. There are plenty of other options out there for cables besides Monster. Acoustic Research is an excellent cable priced lower than Monster, but just as good.

The HDTV signal you get with the box you are getting will also be quite excellent.

sdallnct, i looked at the toshiba. its a nice tv, and i have had AWESOME luck with their brand...... but its a little tall for my needs, and the reg projection viewing angle compared to the DLP is night and day. after seeing the DLP i had to have it. I haven't purchased yet, so i could change my mind as the price difference is huge, but i am leaning towards spending the extra for the top of the line.....i am assuming the DLP will have a long lifespan.....(????)

just went over to Sears. They want $3499, same as Best Buy. Said they will price match anything that is a retail store (said if I can find an internet deal for a retail store anywhere they will match it). I don't like their financing deal as much as BB and their extended warranty is pricier.

amazon.com has the set for $2999.....they arent a physical store though are they? I hate to overpay so much, but i must have the 0% financing and extended warranty....

One thing to ask Best Buy is if their warranty covers bulb replacement. I bought my HLN467 at Tweeters and the warranty covers replacement. The bulbs cost about $250-$300, so it is well worth the price of the warranty. The bulb is rated at ~8000hrs, if I recall.

Be sure to go to the AVS Forums for more detailed info on the Samsung DLP. Look under the Rear Projection section.

I am not positive, but I don't think it covers bulb replacement, which is kinda a rip. But, if I am going to pay this much money for a Tv, you better believe I am going to kick in the extra $250 to cover my a$$ if it sh!ts the bed on me next year.

Originally posted by MACD23 I am not positive, but I don't think it covers bulb replacement, which is kinda a rip. But, if I am going to pay this much money for a Tv, you better believe I am going to kick in the extra $250 to cover my a$$ if it sh!ts the bed on me next year.

You are right, it doesn't cover bulb replacement, but it also doesn't cover burn in either. So if it came down to buying a new bulb (could be many years depending on how much tv you watch) or buying a new tv because you can't get that FOX logo out of the bottom corner, it looks like a new bulb is a bargain. And yes, burn in is an issue, depending on which channels you watch most often, whether you watch in fullscreen--bars on side, or play a lot of video games. And DLP will last you a LONG time. Don't get me wrong, I have a 36" Toshiba that has lasted a long time and is a fantastic television, but I would recommend the DLP. All IMHO of course.

MACD, the Mitsubishi is freaking awsome but I would get the 413 model and not the 313. If you go to most AV stores they usually have a couple of the 42413's returned because people bought it, went home the decided that they wanted to go bigger. If you can go for the DLP tho it is deffinitly less hassel to own. But the picture is way to pixaly (is that a word).

Originally posted by MACD23 spoke to the guy at best buy. he claims the extended service plan warranty covers the bulb. i might have him write it on the contract just to be sure.

It does not cover the replacement of the bulb. When the set first was being sold by Best Buy the PSP covered the bulb, but then the higher ups found out that they did not last more then 4 years so thay stopped covering the bulb as it would cost more then the service pan. Best Buy now lists the bulb as a item that will fail no matter what, and as such do not cover it. The only people who have bulb coverage are those who bought the DLP before September of last year.

Have the sales guy look up some of the talk backs in the Best Buy Tool Kit (it can be found on all the computers in the store) and the fact that the bulb is no longer covered will be right there in front of him. Unless the sales guy is new, he is knowingly lieing to you to make a PSP sale.

Even if you have the salesman write that he told you that the bulb was covered it still will not be. People try to bring things in to be either repaired or replaced all the time with a receipt that says things will be covered that fall out of the range of the PSP and they always end up leaving mad. Just a thought is all.

There are a lot of us employees that have been complaining to the higher ups that the bulb should be replaced under the PSP, but we are shot down everytime. Heck, if it were not for us employees complaing even those people who bought the DLP before September of last year would not have bulb coverage.

Just a message from your friendly Best Buy guy.

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yes, as a matter of fact my butt is sore from this morning - D.Pham00

I took my wife to Ulimate Electronics today. Just wanted to show her the difference, sizes, picture, etc of the CRT's vs the fixed pixal's.

They had one room set up with a built in cabinet (lower cabinet) and a plasma on the wall, with photos all around it. She looked at me and said "that is what I want". I thought the salesmen was going to die laughing.

I tried to tell her is was an $8,000 TV, but she "wanted it". So now got to start looking to see if that is a viable option. Hell I haven't even seen the house yet and I'm looking for TV's....